Display device

ABSTRACT

A display device includes: a substrate having a display area and non-display area; a first conductive layer disposed on the substrate and corresponding to the display area; a second conductive layer disposed on the substrate and corresponding to the display area, wherein the first and second conductive layers cross from top view; a first insulating layer disposed between the first and second conductive layers; a third conductive layer disposed on the substrate, corresponding to the non-display area, and including a first connection line; and a second insulating layer disposed between the second and third conductive layers. The first connection line electrically connects to the first or second conductive layer. The result of a sheet impedance of the first connection line divided by a sheet impedance of the first or second conductive layer is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 10.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefits of the Chinese Patent ApplicationSerial Number 201810158603.2, filed on Feb. 22, 2018, the subject matterof which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to display devices and, moreparticularly, to a display device which, in the case of the presence ofa non-display area on a display panel or the presence of an opening on asubstrate, has thin bezels.

2. Description of Related Art

Owing to technological advancement, electronic products are increasinglylightweight, thin or compact in order to meet consumer needs. Hence,display devices nowadays are no longer restricted to cathode ray tubes(CRT) but develop into thin display units. The thin display units can beapplied to cellular phones, cameras, camcorders, laptops, mobilenavigation devices, vehicle dashboards, electronic watches, and TV sets.Related manufacturers not only endeavor to develop thinner displaydevices but also attach great importance to thin bezel design.

However, wirings and components will surround a non-display area or anopening in the event of the presence of the non-display area on adisplay panel or the presence of the opening on a substrate.Furthermore, owning to process-related limitation, the non-display areais unfit for thin bezel design and thus fails to meet consumer needs.

Therefore, it is imperative to provide a display device that overcomeswiring-related limitation and thus has thin bezels even when a displaypanel comprises a non-display area or even when a substrate comprises anopening.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a display device comprising: a substratecomprising a display area and a non-display area; a first conductivelayer disposed on the substrate and corresponding to the display area; asecond conductive layer disposed on the substrate and corresponding tothe display area, wherein the second conductive layer and the firstconductive layer cross from top view; a first insulating layer disposedbetween the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer; athird conductive layer disposed on the substrate and corresponding tothe non-display area, the third conductive layer comprising a firstconnection line; and a second insulating layer disposed between thesecond conductive layer and the third conductive layer, wherein thefirst connection line is electrically connected to the first conductivelayer or the second conductive layer, and a result of a sheet impedanceof the first connection line divided by a sheet impedance of the firstconductive layer or the second conductive layer electrically connectedto the first connection line is greater than 0 and less than or equal to10.

The present disclosure further provides a display device comprising: asubstrate comprising a display area and a non-display area, wherein thedisplay area surrounds the non-display area; a first conductive layerdisposed on the substrate and corresponding to the display area, whereinthe first conductive layer comprises a first line segment, a second linesegment and a third line segment, the first line segment and the secondline segment are disposed at two sides of the non-display area, and thethird line segment is disposed parallel to the first line segment; athird conductive layer disposed on the substrate and comprising a firstconnection line electrically connected to the first line segment and thesecond line segment, and a projection of the first connection line isoverlapped with at least a portion of the third line segment from topview; and a first insulating layer disposed between the first conductivelayer and the third conductive layer, wherein the first insulating layerfurther comprises a first through-hole and a second through-hole, thethird conductive layer is electrically connected to the first linesegment via the first through-hole, and the third conductive layer iselectrically connected to the second line segment via the secondthrough-hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a top view of a portion of a display device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the display device taken along lineM-M′ of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a top view of a portion of the display device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A is a top view of a portion of the display device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the display device taken along lineN-N′ of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The implementation of the present disclosure is hereunder illustrated byspecific embodiments. Persons skilled in the art can easily understandthe other advantages and effects of the present disclosure by referringto the disclosure contained herein. The present disclose can also beimplemented or applied by the other different specific embodiments.Depending on different viewpoints and applications, variousmodifications and changes can be made to the details disclosed hereinwithout departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

Ordinal numbers, such as ‘first’, ‘second’ and ‘third’, used hereunderdescribe claimed components but do not state implicitly or explicitlywhat order the claimed components are previously in, whether a claimedcomponent precedes or follows another claimed component, or what orderthe steps of a manufacturing method are in. The sole purpose of theordinal numbers is to distinguish a claimed component from anotherclaimed component when the two claimed components are named exactly thesame as each other.

Direction-related prepositions and adjectives used herein, such as “on”,“upper”, “above”, “under”, “lower” and “below”, describe aforesaid twocomponents either in direct contact with each other or not in directcontact with each other.

Features described hereunder in any one of the embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be combined to form another embodiment.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1A is a top view of a portion of a display device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional viewof the display device taken along line M-M′ of FIG. 1A. First, thisembodiment of the present disclosure provides a substrate 1. Thesubstrate 1 comprises a display area A and a non-display area B. Aphotolithography or etching process is performed on the substrate 1 toform a first metal layer (functioning as a first conductive layer 11)and then on the first conductive layer 11 to form a first insulatinglayer 12. The aforesaid steps are repeated to form a second metal layer(functioning as a second conductive layer 13) and a second insulatinglayer 14 consecutively. Afterward, a third metal layer (functioning as athird conductive layer 15) is formed on the second insulating layer 14,and then a third insulating layer 16 is formed thereon. The thirdconductive layer 15 comprises a first connection line 151. The firstinsulating layer 12 comprises a first hole 121. The second insulatinglayer comprises a second hole 141. The first conductive layer 11 and thefirst connection line 151 extend into the first hole 121 and the secondhole 141. The first conductive layer 11 and the first connection line151 contact and electrically connected with each other.

The substrate 1 is a glass substrate, but the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. The first conductive layer 11, the second conductivelayer 13, and the third conductive layer 15 may comprise metal, such asgold, silver, copper, aluminum, molybdenum, titanium, chromium or analloy thereof, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Thefirst connection line 151 may comprises metal or metallic oxide, such asIndium Tin Oxide (ITO) or Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), or any otherconductive material, as needed, but the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. The first conductive layer 11, the second conductivelayer 13, and the third conductive layer 15 may be made of the samematerial or different materials, provided that the result of a sheetimpedance of the first connection line 151 of the third conductive layer15 divided by a sheet impedance of the first conductive layer 11electrically connected to the first connection line 151 is greater than0 and less than or equal to 10. The first conductive layer 11, thesecond conductive layer 13, and the third conductive layer 15 are eachindependently a monolayer or multilayer structure as needed. The firstinsulating layer 12, the second insulating layer 14 and the thirdinsulating layer 16 may comprise silicon oxide, silicon nitride or acombination thereof, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

A display device in an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: asubstrate 1 comprising a display area A and a non-display area B; afirst conductive layer 11 disposed on the substrate 1 and correspondingto the display area A; a second conductive layer 13 disposed on thesubstrate 1 and corresponding to the display area A, wherein, the secondconductive layer 13 and the first conductive layer 11 cross from topview; a first insulating layer 12 disposed between the first conductivelayer 11 and the second conductive layer 13; a third conductive layer 15disposed on the substrate 1 and corresponding to the non-display area B,the third conductive layer 15 comprising a first connection line 151;and a second insulating layer 14 disposed between the second conductivelayer 13 and the third conductive layer 15, wherein, the firstconductive layer 11 is electrically connected to the first connectionline 151 of the third conductive layer 15, and the result of a sheetimpedance of the first connection line 151 of the third conductive layer15 divided by a sheet impedance of the first conductive layer 11electrically connected to the first connection line 151 is greater than0 and less than or equal to 10. In this embodiment, the non-display areaB is surrounded by the display area A. However, in another embodiment,the non-display area B is near the display area A, or the display area Ais near just a portion of the non-display area B, as needed. The shapeof the non-display area B is not limited by this embodiment and thus maybe rectangular, round, polygonal or irregular. The routing of the firstconductive layer 11, second conductive layer 13 or third conductivelayer 15 may conform to the shape of the non-display area B.

The first conductive layer 11 functions as a scan line, and the secondconductive layer 13 functions as a data line, but the present disclosureis not limited thereto. The first conductive layer 11 may also functionas a data line, or the second conductive layer 13 may also function as ascan line. When the non-display area B comprises a non-circuit area Cwhich are not overlapped with the first conductive layer 11, the secondconductive layer 13 or the third conductive layer 15 but is spaced apartfrom the display area A by an overly short distance, a short circuit mayeasily develop between adjacent scan lines or adjacent data lines,because the scan lines or data lines must circumvent the non-circuitarea C in order to transmit a signal. On the other hand, the displaydevice cannot have thin bezels, when the distance between thenon-circuit area C and the display area A is overly long. According tothe present disclosure, the third conductive layer 15 is disposed in thenon-display area B, whereas the third conductive layer 15 comprising afirst connection line 151 electrically connected to the first conductivelayer 11 via the first hole 121 and the second hole 141; hence, the samesignal can be transmitted for a limited distance without causing a shortcircuit, thereby allowing the display device to have thin bezels. Inthis embodiment, the third conductive layer 15 is electrically connectedto the first conductive layer 11, so as to transmit signals of the scanlines, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In thisembodiment, the non-circuit area C can be disposed centrally in thenon-display area B and surrounded by the display area A. However, inanother embodiment, the non-circuit area C can be near the display areaA, or the non-circuit area C is near just a portion of the non-displayarea B, as needed. The shape of the non-circuit area C is not limited bythis embodiment and thus may be rectangular, round, polygonal orirregular. The routing of the first conductive layer 11, secondconductive layer 13 or third conductive layer 15 may conform to theshape of the non-circuit area C.

FIG. 1C is a top view of a portion of the display device according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure. The first conductive layer11 comprises a second wiring 111 and a third wiring 112 electricallyinsulated with the second wiring 111. The second wiring 111 is adjacentand parallel to the third wiring 112. The second wiring 111 and thethird wiring 112 extend in a first direction P. The first connectionline 151 of the third conductive layer 15 is electrically connected tothe second wiring 111. The projection of the first connection line 151on the substrate 1 is overlapped with at least a portion of the thirdwiring 112.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the substrate 1comprises an opening D disposed corresponding to the non-display area B.The opening D is not overlapped with the first conductive layer 11, thesecond conductive layer 13, or the third conductive layer 15. Theopening D may penetrate the substrate 1.

This embodiment of the present disclosure is not restrictive of theposition of the non-display area B. For instance, the non-display area Bcan be disposed at the center of the substrate 1, an edge of thesubstrate 1, or a corner of the substrate 1, but the present disclosureis not limited thereto. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, thedisplay area A of the display device comprises a plurality of pixelunits 3, and the non-display area B is disposed between at least twopixel units 3. Preferably, each pixel unit 3 is of a width W, and thewidth of the non-display area B is greater than 2W.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 1C,the display area A surrounds the non-display area B, and the firstconductive layer 11 comprises a first scan line segment 113, a secondscan line segment 114 and a third scan line segment 115 which extend inthe first direction P. The first scan line segment 113 and the secondscan line segment 114 are disposed corresponding to two sides of thenon-display area B. The third scan line segment 115 is disposed parallelto the first scan line segment 113. The first connection line 151 of thethird conductive layer 15 is electrically connected to the first scanline segment 113 and the second scan line segment 114. The projection ofthe first connection line 151 is overlapped with at least a portion ofthe third scan line segment 115 from top view. The first insulatinglayer 12 comprises a first through-hole 21 (indicated by a dashed line)and a second through-hole 22 (indicated by a dashed line). The firstconnection line 151 of the third conductive layer 15 electricallyconnects to the first scan line segment 113 via the first through-hole21. The first connection line 151 of the third conductive layer 15electrically connects to the second scan line segment 114 via the secondthrough-hole 22. In this embodiment, the first connection line 151 andthe third scan line segment 115 overlap at two points, namely a junctionX, and the first connection line 151 and the third scan line segment 115are electrically insulated at the junction X. In this embodiment, thethird conductive layer 15 and the first conductive layer 11 are notnecessarily made of metal. Instead, the first conductive layer 11 maycomprise metal, whereas the third conductive layer 15 may comprisemetallic oxide, such as ITO or IZO, or any other conductive material ormetal, as needed, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Thedisplay device in this embodiment of the present disclosure will workwell and can have thin bezels, provided that limitation on the distancesbetween the wirings in the conductive layers is reduced.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 2A is a top view of a portion of the display device according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure. This embodiment isdistinguished from embodiment 1 by the technical feature as follows: inthis embodiment, the third conductive layer 15 and the second conductivelayer 13 are electrically connected, so as to transmit signals of datalines, allowing the display device to have thin bezels. Referring toFIG. 2A, this embodiment has technical features as follows: the thirdconductive layer 15 comprises a second connection line 152; the secondconductive layer 13 is electrically connected to the second connectionline 152 of the third conductive layer 15; the result of a sheetimpedance of the second connection line 152 of the third conductivelayer 15 divided by a sheet impedance of the second conductive layer 13electrically connected to the second connection line 152 is greater than0 and less than or equal to 10. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of thedisplay device taken along line N-N′ of FIG. 2A. As shown in thediagram, the second connection line 152 of the third conductive layer 15extends into the second hole 141 of the second insulating layer 14 andthus electrically connects to the second conductive layer 13.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the second conductivelayer 13 comprises a fourth wiring 131 and a fifth wiring 132electrically insulated with the fourth wiring 131. The fourth wiring 131is adjacent and parallel to the fifth wiring 132. The second connectionline 152 of the third conductive layer 15 is electrically connected tothe fourth wiring 131. The projection of the second connection line 152on the substrate 1 is overlapped with at least a portion of the fifthwiring 132.

The materials which the substrate 1, the first conductive layer 11, thesecond conductive layer 13, the third conductive layer 15, the firstinsulating, layer 12, the second insulating layer 14, and the thirdinsulating layer 16 are made of and the positions of the display area Aand non-display area B in this embodiment are the same as theircounterparts in Embodiment 1 and thus are, for the sake of brevity, notdescribed herein again. In this embodiment, the first conductive layer11 functions as a scan line, and the second conductive layer 13functions as a data line, but the present disclosure is not limitedthereto. The first conductive layer 11 can also function as a data line,or the second conductive layer 13 can also function as a scan line.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 2A,the display area A surrounds the non-display area B, and the secondconductive layer 13 comprises a first data line segment 133, a seconddata line segment 134 and a third data line segment 135 which extend ina second direction Q. The first data line segment 133 and the seconddata line segment 134 are disposed corresponding to two sides of thenon-display area B. The third data line segment 135 is parallel to thefirst data line segment 133. The second connection line 152 of the thirdconductive layer 15 is electrically connected to the first data linesegment 133 and the second data line segment 134. The projection of thesecond connection line 152 is overlapped with at least a portion of thethird data line segment 135 from top view. The second insulating layer14 comprises a third through-hole 23 (indicated by a dashed line) and afourth through-hole 24 (indicated by a dashed line). The secondconnection line 152 of the third conductive layer 15 electricallyconnects to the first data line segment 133 via the third through-hole23. The second connection line 152 of the third conductive layer 15electrically connects to the second data line segment 134 via the fourththrough-hole 24. In this embodiment, the second connection line 152 andthe third data line segment 135 overlap at two points, namely a junctionY, and the second connection line 152 and the third data line segment135 are electrically insulated at the junction Y. In this embodiment,the third conductive layer 15 and the second conductive layer 13 are notnecessarily made of metal. Instead, the second conductive layer maycomprise metal, whereas the third conductive layer 15 may comprisemetallic oxide, such as ITO or IZO, or any other conductive material ormetal, as needed, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Thedisplay device in this embodiment of the present disclosure will workwell and can have thin bezels, provided that limitation on the distancesbetween the wirings in the conductive layers is reduced, or the distancebetween the opening D and the display area A is reduced.

Embodiment 3

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This embodiment isdistinguished from embodiment 1 by technical features as follows: thefirst conductive layer 11 and the third conductive layer 15 areelectrically connected by the first conductive layer 11 is electricallyconnected to a portion of the second conductive layer 13, and the thirdconductive layer 15 is electrically connected to the portion of thesecond conductive layer 13 via the second hole 141, and the secondconductive layer 13 is electrically connect to the first conductivelayer 11 via the first hole 121, thus the first conductive layer 11 iselectrically connected to the third conductive layer 15, so as totransmit the same signal, hence, the same signal can be transmitted fora limited distance without causing a short circuit, thereby allowing thedisplay device to have thin bezels.

Embodiment 4

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the display deviceaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring toFIG. 1A and FIG. 4, first, this embodiment of the present disclosureprovides a substrate 1. The substrate 1 comprises a display area A and anon-display area B. A photolithography or etching process is performedto form a third metal layer (functioning as the third conductive layer41) in the non-display area B of the substrate 1 and then form a secondinsulating layer 42 on the third conductive layer 41. The aforesaidsteps are repeated to form a first metal layer (functioning as a firstconductive layer 43), a first insulating layer 44, a second metal layer(functioning as a second conductive layer 45), and a third insulatinglayer 46 consecutively. The first conductive layer 43 is disposedbetween the first insulating layer 44 and the second insulating layer42. The first conductive layer 43 and the third conductive layer 41 areelectrically connected through a third hole 5. In some embodiments(figure not shown), the third conductive layer 41, the first conductivelayer 43 and the second conductive layer 45 are electrically connect toeach other. This embodiment is distinguished from Embodiment 1 by thetechnical feature: this embodiment involves forming a third metal layerfirst and then forming the other layers consecutively.

In this embodiment, the first conductive layer 43 functions as a scanline, and the second conductive layer 45 functions as a data line, butthe present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first conductivelayer 43 may also function as a data line, or the second conductivelayer 45 may also function as a scan line. In this embodiment, thepurpose of the third conductive layer 41 is to reduce limitation on thedistances between the wirings in the conductive layers, reduce thedistance between the opening D and the display area A, or enable thedisplay device to have thin bezels.

In conclusion, the display device of the present disclosure has thinbezels, by forming a third metal layer in a non-display area, allowingthe third metal layer to electrically connect to a first metal layer ora second metal layer, so as to transmit the same signal. The aforesaidembodiments can be combined, but the present disclosure is notrestrictive of combinations of the aforesaid embodiments.

The display device of the present disclosure is applied to various typesof display devices comprising an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), aquantum dot (QD), a fluorescence molecule, a phosphor, a light-emittingdiode (LED), a micro light-emitting diode (micro LED) or any otherdisplay medium. In addition, the display device of the presentdisclosure is applied to any touch display device equipped with a touchpanel. Furthermore, the display device of the present disclosure isapplied to any tiled display device, any non-curved, curved or flexibledisplay device or any touch display device.

The aforesaid specific embodiments of the present disclosure must beinterpreted to be solely illustrative rather than restrictive, in anyway, of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device, comprising: a substratecomprising a display area and a non-display area, wherein thenon-display area is surrounded by the display area and comprises anon-circuit area; a first conductive layer disposed on the substrate andcorresponding to the display area; a second conductive layer disposed onthe substrate and corresponding to the display area, wherein the secondconductive layer and the first conductive layer cross from top view; afirst insulating layer disposed between the first conductive layer andthe second conductive layer; a third conductive layer disposed on thesubstrate and corresponding to the non-display area, the thirdconductive layer comprising a first connection line; and a secondinsulating layer disposed between the second conductive layer and thethird conductive layer, wherein the first connection line iselectrically connected to the first conductive layer or the secondconductive layer, and a result of a sheet impedance of the firstconnection line divided by a sheet impedance of the first conductivelayer or the second conductive layer electrically connected to the firstconnection line is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 10, whereina portion of a projection of the first connection line is overlappedwith a portion of the first conductive layer, and another portion of theprojection of the first connection line is overlapped with a portion ofthe second conductive layer in the non-display area, wherein the firstconnection line does not overlap the non-circuit area from top view. 2.The display device of claim 1, wherein the second conductive layer isfurther disposed between the first insulating layer and the secondinsulating layer.
 3. The display device of claim 2, wherein the firstconnection line is electrically connected to the first conductive layer,and the second conductive layer is electrically connected to the firstconductive layer.
 4. The display device of claim 1, wherein the firstconductive layer comprises a second wiring and a third wiringelectrically insulated with the second wiring, the second wiring isadjacent and parallel to the third wiring, the second wiring iselectrically connected to the first connection line, and a projection ofthe first connection line on the substrate is overlapped with at least aportion of the third wiring.
 5. The display device of claim 1, whereinthe second conductive layer comprises a fourth wiring and a fifth wiringelectrically insulated with the fourth wiring, the fourth wiring iselectrically connected to the first connection line, and a projection ofthe first connection line on the substrate is overlapped with at least aportion of the fifth wiring.
 6. The display device of claim 1, whereinthe display area comprises a plurality of pixel units, and thenon-display area is disposed between at least two of the plurality ofpixel units.
 7. The display device of claim 6, wherein the substratecomprises an opening disposed corresponding to the non-display area. 8.The display device of claim 1, wherein the first insulating layercomprises a first hole, the second insulating layer comprises a secondhole, the first connection line electrically connect to the secondconductive layer via the second hole, and the first connection lineelectrically connect to the first conductive layer via the first hole.9. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first insulating layercomprises a first hole, the second insulating layer comprises a secondhole, the third conductive layer is electrically connected to the secondconductive layer via the second hole, and the second conductive layer iselectrically connected to the first conductive layer via the first hole.10. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first connection linecomprises metal or metallic oxide.